U.S. patent number 10,218,582 [Application Number 14/038,589] was granted by the patent office on 2019-02-26 for notifications with input-based completion.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Apple Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Apple Inc.. Invention is credited to Gencer Cili.
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United States Patent |
10,218,582 |
Cili |
February 26, 2019 |
Notifications with input-based completion
Abstract
Techniques are disclosed for presenting notifications that can
receive input data. The techniques include presenting a
notification in response to occurrence of an event, wherein the
notification is associated with a specified data type and a data
source from which data is to be received, receiving input data of
the specified data type from the data source, wherein the
notification is presented until the input data is received, and
storing the input data. The notification can block access to a user
interface of at least one application until the input data is
received. The data source can be a data entry component of a user
interface that receives user input, or can be an application that
provides data of the specified data type, and receiving input data
can include requesting data of the specified data type from the
application, and receiving the input data from the application via
inter-process communication.
Inventors: |
Cili; Gencer (Santa Clara,
CA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Apple Inc. |
Cupertino |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Apple Inc. (Cupertino,
CA)
|
Family
ID: |
52692179 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/038,589 |
Filed: |
September 26, 2013 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20150089387 A1 |
Mar 26, 2015 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/0488 (20130101); G06F 3/0482 (20130101); H04M
1/72566 (20130101); H04L 41/22 (20130101); H04M
1/72572 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
3/048 (20130101); H04L 12/24 (20060101); G06F
3/0488 (20130101); G06F 3/0482 (20130101); H04M
1/725 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;715/747 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kujundzic; Dino
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dickinson Wright RLLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for presenting notifications, the method comprising, at
a first application on a computing device: for each application of
a plurality of applications installed on the computing device:
querying the application for an indication of one or more types of
input data that the application is capable of providing to the
first application, and adding the one or more types of input data
to a collection of types of input data managed by the first
application; receiving a request to establish a reminder associated
with notification criteria wherein the request indicates a
selection of a type of input data from the collection of types of
input data; and in conjunction with determining that the
notification criteria are satisfied: displaying a notification that
includes a user interface (UI) input object that corresponds to the
type of input data indicated by the selection, wherein the type of
input data is provided to the first application by a second
application that provides the type of input data, sending an
inter-process communication to the second application, wherein the
inter-process communication causes the second application to carry
out an initialization procedure for providing the type of input
data, and in conjunction with receiving the selection of the UI
input object: receiving input data from the second application,
associating the input data with the notification, and hiding the
notification.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at a
configuration interface of the first application, an additional
selection of at least one tag to associate with the input data; and
storing the input data with the at least one tag.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the request further indicates: a
first selection of a location to be associated with the
notification criteria, wherein the location indicates that the
notification should be presented when a user arrives at the
location; and a second selection corresponding to a time that the
notification is to be presented.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second application is
configured to gather the input data from a sensor that is
communicably coupled to the computing device.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second application is a
camera application, the sensor is a camera, and the input data is a
digital photograph.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second application is a
weather application, the sensor is a temperature sensor, and the
input data is a temperature measurement.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: blocking access to a
user interface of at least one other application executing on the
computing device until the input data is received.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the UI input object is a
button.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the button includes an icon
associated with the second application.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein, when the button is selected,
the second application is displayed at the computing device.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the types of input data include
at least one of: audio, image, video, and text.
12. At least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium
configured to store instructions that, when executed by at least
one processor of a computing device, cause a first application to
execute on the computing device and perform steps that include: for
each application of a plurality of applications installed on the
computing device: querying the application for an indication of one
or more types of input data that the application is capable of
providing to the first application, and adding the one or more
types of input data to a collection of types of input data managed
by the first application; receiving a request to establish a
reminder associated with notification criteria wherein the request
indicates a selection of a type of input data from the collection
of types of input data; and in conjunction with determining that
the notification criteria are satisfied: displaying a notification
that includes a user interface (UI) input object that corresponds
to the type of input data indicated by the selection, wherein the
type of input data is provided to the first application by a second
application that provides the type of input data, sending an
inter-process communication to the second application, wherein the
inter-process communication causes the second application to carry
out an initialization procedure for providing the type of input
data, and in conjunction with receiving the selection of the UI
input object: receiving input data from the second application,
associating the input data with the notification, and hiding the
notification.
13. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium
of claim 12, wherein the steps further include: blocking access to
a user interface of at least one other application executing on the
computing device until the input data is received.
14. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium
of claim 12, wherein the UI input object is a button that includes
an icon associated with the second application.
15. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium
of claim 14, wherein, when the button is selected, the second
application is displayed at the computing device.
16. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium
of claim 12, wherein the types of input data include at least one
of: audio, image, video, and text.
17. A computing device, comprising: at least one processor; and at
least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at
least one processor, cause the computing device to execute a first
application configured to: for each application of a plurality of
applications installed on the computing device: query the
application for an indication of one or more types of input data
that the application is capable of providing to the first
application, and add the one or more types of input data to a
collection of types of input data managed by the first application;
receive a request to establish a reminder associated with
notification criteria, wherein the request indicates a selection of
a type of input data from the collection of types of input data;
and in conjunction with determining that the notification criteria
are satisfied: display a notification that includes a user
interface (UI) input object that corresponds to the type of input
data indicated by the selection, wherein the type of input data is
provided to the first application by a second application that
provides the type of input data, send an inter-process
communication to the second application, wherein the inter-process
communication causes the second application to carry out an
initialization procedure for providing the type of input data, and
in conjunction with receiving the selection of the UI input object:
receive input data from the second application, associate the input
data with the notification, and hide the notification.
18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the at least one
processor further causes the computing device to: block access to a
user interface of at least one other application executing on the
computing device until the input data is received.
19. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the UI input object
is a button that includes an icon associated with the second
application.
20. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the types of input
data include at least one of: audio, image, video, and text.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to notification of events
in computer systems. More particularly, the present embodiments
relate to presentation of notifications that can involve waiting
for and receiving input from a user or other data source.
BACKGROUND
Computer systems can provide notifications, which can be text or
other content displayed prominently to inform a user of the
occurrence of an event, often soon after the event occurs. Users
can create reminders that generate reminder notifications for
events expected occur in the future. A computer system can maintain
a list of reminders and presents notifications to the users when
the events associated with the reminders occur. For example, a
reminder alarm is a type of notification that causes a reminder
notification to be displayed in a user interface when a certain
point in time is reached. A geographic reminder is another type of
notification, which causes a reminder notification to be displayed
when the computer system is in a specified geographic location. An
email notification can indicate that an email message has arrived
by displaying a portion of the message. The notifications can be
displayed as, for example, text that disappears after a short time
period, or in dialog boxes that disappear when a user provides an
input acknowledging the notification. Notifications can also cause
sounds to be emitted from the computer system to draw the user's
attention.
SUMMARY
In one or more embodiments, notifications can be presented to a
user by a computer system when certain events occur, and until a
specified completion condition is met. In one example, the
completion condition is met when input data is received. The
received input data can be stored for later retrieval. If the
notification is presented repeatedly at periodic time intervals,
then a set of input data values is created, and can be used as a
historical record for tasks that involve gathering periodic data.
The notification can be presented in a user interface, such as a
dialog box, text box, pop-up, or other interface component, to
bring the notification to the user's attention. The notification
user interface can have components that the user can select to
enter or collect the desired data, such as a text input field, a
button that opens a camera application, and so on. For example, the
user can enter text, take a photograph, or perform other actions
that produce the desired input data. To encourage the user to
provide the input data, the notification user interface can block
other applications from being used until the input data is received
or the user interface is closed. For example, a user can create a
reminder to check their blood pressure each day at 10:00 am. The
reminder specifies that a measured blood pressure is to be received
at the time of the reminder. The blood pressure input data can be
received from the user via a text input field or automatically from
a sensor. The received blood pressure value is stored in a storage
device for later retrieval.
Reminders with inputs can be categorized according to certain
attributes. A tag can be associated with a reminder, and the tag is
stored in the storage device in association with the input data
when input data is received. For example, a tag "Health" can be
applied to health-related inputs such as calories burnt per day,
blood pressure, body mass index, and so on. The tag feature enables
a user to set future notifications that occur based upon a
combination of the input data, such as a reminder that causes a
notification when the body mass index exceeds a certain value.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The included drawings are for illustrative purposes and serve only
to provide examples of possible structures and arrangements for the
disclosed inventive apparatuses and methods for providing portable
computing devices. These drawings in no way limit any changes in
form and detail that may be made to the invention by one skilled in
the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention. The embodiments will be readily understood by the
following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like structural
elements, and in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustrative drawing of a reminder notification system
in accordance with one or more embodiments.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are illustrative drawings of user interfaces for
defining reminders that can receive input in accordance with one or
more embodiments.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are illustrative drawings of reminder notification
user interfaces that can receive input in accordance with one or
more embodiments.
FIG. 4 is an illustrative drawing of a reminders summary user
interface for displaying summaries of existing reminders in
accordance with one or more embodiments.
FIG. 5 is an illustrative flowchart of a process for presenting
reminders with completion conditions in accordance with one or more
embodiments.
FIG. 6 is an illustrative flowchart of a process for automatically
providing input to reminders from other applications in accordance
with one or more embodiments.
FIG. 7 shows a system block diagram of computer system used to
execute the software of an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Representative applications of apparatuses and methods according to
the presently described embodiments are provided in this section.
These examples are being provided solely to add context and aid in
the understanding of the described embodiments. It will thus be
apparent to one skilled in the art that the presently described
embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these specific
details. In other instances, well known process steps have not been
described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the
presently described embodiments. Other applications are possible,
such that the following examples should not be taken as
limiting.
The following relates to a portable computing device such as a
laptop computer, net book computer, tablet computer, etc. The
portable computing device can include a multi-part housing having a
top case and a bottom case joining at a reveal to form a base
portion. The portable computing device can have an upper portion
(or lid) that can house a display screen and other related
components whereas the base portion can house various processors,
drives, ports, battery, keyboard, touchpad and the like. The base
portion can be formed of a multipart housing that can include top
and bottom outer housing components each of which can be formed in
a particular manner at an interface region such that the gap and
offset between these outer housing components are not only reduced,
but are also more consistent from device to device during the mass
production of devices. These general subjects are set forth in
greater detail below.
In one or more embodiments, notifications can be presented to a
user by a computer system when certain events occur, and until a
specified completion condition is met. That is, the notification is
presented, e.g., displayed, until it is "completed." In one
example, the completion condition is met when input data is
received. The received input data can be stored for later
retrieval, e.g., on a server or on a local storage device. If the
notification is presented repeatedly at periodic time intervals,
then a set of input data values is created, and can be used as a
historical record for tasks that involve gathering periodic data.
The notification can be presented in a notification user interface,
such as a dialog box, text box, pop-up, or other interface
component that can bring the notification to the user's attention.
The notification user interface can have components that the user
can select to enter or collect the desired data, such as a text
input field, a button that opens a camera application, and so on.
For example, the user can enter text, take a photograph, or perform
other actions that produce the desired input data. The notification
user interface is displayed until the input data is received or the
interface is dismissed or closed. That is, when the input data has
been received, the particular notification is completed, and is no
longer presented to the user. As an example, a user can create a
reminder that reminds the user to check their blood pressure each
day at 10:00 am. The user specifies that a measured blood pressure
is to be received at the time of the reminder, either from the user
via a text input field or automatically from a sensor. The reminder
is displayed until the input is received, to encourage the user to
provide the input. The received blood pressure value is stored in a
storage device for later retrieval.
In another aspect, the input data can be received automatically
from a data source in the computer system, instead of from the
user. The notification can be presented to the user and displayed
until the input data is received, and the user acknowledges the
notification. Alternatively, the input data can be requested from
the internal source, and, if received, the notification is not
presented to the user and user input is not requested for the
notification.
If input data is not available from the internal source, then the
notification can be presented to the user until the input data is
received from the user. For example, a reminder that has a
temperature value as input can retrieve the temperature value from
a weather application or a temperature sensor. As another example,
a reminder to check a stock portfolio each week can automatically
retrieve the stock portfolio information from an online service. In
another example, a project manager can track the frequency of email
communications between team members using a periodic reminder to
check a count of emails each day. The reminder can query an email
application (e.g., using an inter-process communication call) to
retrieve the mail count for the current day. The mail count can
then be stored, e.g., on a reminder server.
FIG. 1 is an illustrative drawing of a reminder notification system
in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1,
reminders are extended to receive input when the reminders'
notifications occur. The notifications remain visible and active
until the input is received. These features can simplify the
tracking of progress over time, particularly for periodic events.
For example, a construction manager may want to track construction
progress. The manager can create a reminder to generate a picture
of the construction site each time he visits the construction site.
If he visits the site once a month, a periodic reminder can be used
to remind him to take a picture. As another example, a geographic
reminder can be used to remind the manager to take the picture when
he arrives at the construction site.
When the reminder is triggered and displayed, a message appears on
a computing device 102 asking the manager to press a user interface
button to open a camera application, and take a photograph with the
camera. The reminder is displayed until the button is pressed. When
the manager presses the button and takes the photo, the photo is
stored for later retrieval, and the reminder completes and
disappears from the device's display. In one or more embodiments,
the input data is stored on a reminder server 150 as stored input
data 154. The device 102 can communicate with the reminder server
150 via a network such as the Internet. The data storage can be
implemented by allocating memory in association with each reminder
at the server 150 and storing the input data in the allocated
memory for the corresponding reminder. The server thus tracks the
reminder, the required input type, and the received input values
for each reminder. The received input values can include a value
for each notification generated by the reminder, which can be a
number of values for a periodic repeating reminder. A progress
chart illustrating the values can subsequently be generated based
on the stored input data. If the data includes photos, a slideshow
of the stored photos can be generated to display the progress.
In one or more embodiments, the reminder input can be provided
either manually, e.g., by a user, or automatically, e.g., by
another application. In the manual case, a user enters or the data
directly or indirectly, e.g., by tying a number or text, taking a
picture with a camera application, and so on.
Automatic reminder input can be implemented using communication
between applications executing on the computing device 102 to send
the input from an application to the reminder. The applications can
be provided with the device (e.g., native applications) or by third
parties. When the computing device 102 boots up, the reminder
application 104 communicates with other applications 106-110
running on the device 102. The other applications declare the
type(s) of input data that they can provide to the reminders
application. For example, an email application 106 can specify that
it provides a message count (a number of messages in a mailbox), a
message subject, and other data values. The reminder application
104 receives this specification, and displays the declared input
data types as selectable types in a reminder configuration user
interface 200 or the like, so that the user can select one of the
declared inputs (e.g., message count or message subject) as the
input type for the input type field 206. As another example, a
camera application 110 can declare that it provides pictures and
videos as input data. Thus, an application can be selected in the
reminder interface 200, and an input of that application can be
selected as the source for input to reminders. In another example,
telephony daemon 108 is a process that provides telephone-related
features, and declares inputs similarly to the applications 106,
110, 112. The telephony daemon 108 declares that it provides a
missed call count, a most frequently called number, and an input
named "originate call" that, if selected causes a telephone user
interface to be presented so that a call can be made.
In one or more embodiments, the criteria associated with each
reminder are known and evaluated by the server 150 and/or by the
reminder application 104. The reminder criteria are stored on the
device 102 as part of the reminders 114 by the reminder application
104. The reminder criteria can also be stored on the server 150 as
reminders 152. When the reminder application determines that the
criteria are met for a particular reminder, the reminder
application sends an inter-process communication (IPC) call to the
application that provides the input data for that reminder
(according to the reminder interface 200). This IPC call indicates
that input data may soon be requested from the providing
application (e.g. the camera application 110, so that the
application can perform any initialization steps that may be
appropriate). For example, the camera application 110 can
initialize the camera hardware in response to this initialization
IPC call so that a subsequent request for a photo can be completed
more quickly. The reminder application 114 can also generate a
notification to cause the reminder to be displayed in a user
interface.
Each of the reminders 114 in the reminder application 104 can be
associated with one or more tags 116. A tag can be, for example, a
label or a name with an optional attribute value. Each of the
inputs can be associated with a tag. For example, a body mass index
input can be associated with the tag BMI. Users can add tags or
name-value attributes to reminders or to inputs of reminders via
the reminder application 104. The tags or attributes associated
with a reminder or the reminder's inputs are stored on the reminder
server 150 as tags 156 within or in association with the stored
reminders 152. Tags can be used to, for example, group
health-related inputs such as calories burnt per day, blood
pressure, and weight by tagging them with the same attribute. These
tags or attributes can be used to define notifications that use a
combination of the input data, such as a minder that generates a
notification when the BMI (body mass index input) exceeds a
predetermined value.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are illustrative drawings of user interfaces for
defining reminders that can receive input in accordance with one or
more embodiments. The user interfaces of FIGS. 2A and 2B can be
presented by, for example, a reminder application such as that
provided with the iOS.RTM. operating system for the iPhone.RTM. or
iPad.RTM. devices, or the Mac OS X operating system, both of which
are available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Reminders have
associated criteria, such as a date or location at which the
reminder is to generate a notification. The criteria can be
specified in the user interfaces of FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 2A shows
a time-based reminder having an associated day and time at which
the reminder notification is to be displayed (Saturday, Dec. 15,
2012, 7:30 PM). FIG. 2B shows a location-based reminder a location
at which the reminder notification is to be displayed (101 Saratoga
Ave, Santa Clara, Calif.). Note that reminders and the reminders
application are used as examples. The techniques discussed herein
are not limited to use with reminders, and can be used with other
types of notifications, such as alarms in a clock application,
notifications in calendar, email, or text messaging applications,
and so on.
The user interfaces of FIGS. 2A and 2B can be used to enable,
disable, and configure options for a "required input" option that
can be associated with each reminder. Setting the required input
option to "On" using the switch 204 causes the reminder
notification to request and wait for an input from a user or other
source. An input data type can be specified when the required input
option is enabled at the input type field 206. If the input data
type is specified, the input received from the user or other source
is interpreted as a value of that data type. For example, the data
type can be set to a numeric type, in which case the input is
converted to a numeric value. If the input does not contain data
that can be converted to a numeric value, then an error can be
generated indicating that the input is invalid. When the input is
invalid, another input value can be requested until a value that
can be converted to a numeric value is received. Alternatively,
such a non-conforming input value can be discarded without
requesting another input value, in which case no input is received
for the particular notification. The data type can be set to other
types, such as a text type that accepts alphanumeric data, a photo
type that accepts photographs, and so on.
FIG. 2A shows a time-based reminder configured to require numeric
user input. The time-based reminder's message has been set to
"Check blood pressure" by the user. The reminder message is
displayed when the reminder's criteria, e.g., a particular time
being reached, is met and a notification is generated, such as that
shown in FIG. 3A below. The "Remind Me On a Day" switch 202 is in
the "On" position, which indicates that the reminder causes a
notification to be presented on a specified day. A user can set a
"Required User Input" switch 204 to an "On" position to cause the
reminder to require user input. In FIG. 2A, the "Required User
Input" switch 204 is in the "On" position, so the reminder's
notification, when presented, is to be presented until user input
is received (or the reminder is otherwise closed, e.g., by
selection of a Close button). A user can specify a data type to
which the reminder's required input is to confirm. For example, a
list of possible input data types can be displayed, and the user
can select one of the types from the list. In this example, the
required input's type is numeric, i.e., a number is expected to be
provided as input. The text input type field 206 indicates that the
reminder requires numeric input. Other types of input are possible,
such as alphabetic or alphanumeric text, and these other types can
be represented by corresponding icons in the position of the text
input type field 206. Tags can be associated with the reminder
using the interface 200. A Health tag 208 is shown, but the tag can
have any desired value. The user can enter a tag using a keyboard
or select the tag from a list.
When the Check Blood Pressure reminder is presented, the
notification interface 300 shown in FIG. 3A below is displayed, and
the user can select a text field 304 to activate a text field into
which the user can enter a number. The notification interface 300
is displayed until the user selects the text field 304 and enters a
number, or the user selects the Close button 302. The tag(s) or
attribute(s) associated with a reminder or with the reminder's
inputs can be displayed in the notification interface 300. Once the
number has been entered, the notification user interface
disappears, and the received number is stored in a database or
other storage medium. The value of the tag, e.g., "Health", can be
stored in association with the number.
FIG. 2B shows a location-based reminder configured to require
numeric input. The location-based reminder's message has been set
to "Take a picture of the construction" by the user. The "Remind Me
At a Location" switch 212 has been set to "On" to indicate that the
reminder causes a notification to be presented when the computing
device is at a specified geographic location. The "Required User
Input" switch 214 is set to the "On" position to indicate that the
reminder's notification is to be presented until user input is
received. The type of the required user input, i.e., the type of
the data that, when received, causes the reminder to complete, has
been set to a photograph type 216 by the user. Tags can be
associated with the photo reminder using the interface 210. Two
tags 218, Projects and Saratoga, are associated with the photo
reminder.
When the photo reminder is presented, the notification interface
310 shown in FIG. 3B below is displayed, and the user can select a
button 314 to activate a camera application and take a photo. The
notification interface 310 is displayed until the user selects the
photo button 314 and takes a photo, or the user selects the Close
button 312. Once the photo has been taken, the notification user
interface disappears.
Note that the phrase "required input" as used herein indicates that
the reminder accepts input when the user is notified of the
reminder's occurrence, and can prevent the reminder from being
dismissed by an acknowledgement such as selecting an OK option.
However, the requirement for input is not necessarily absolute,
since the user can dismiss the reminder without providing input in
one or more embodiments, e.g., by selecting a Close option when the
reminder notification is displayed. The Close option does not
necessarily complete the reminder, so the reminder can be presented
again (if the reminder system is so configured), but the Close
option can permit a user to close the reminder without providing
the required input.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are illustrative drawings of reminder notification
user interfaces that can receive input in accordance with one or
more embodiments. The notification interfaces 300, 310 can be
presented when the reminder criteria associated with the reminders
defined in the respective reminder configuration user interfaces
200, 210 are met. More specifically, the notification interface 300
is a time-based notification that can be displayed when the date
and time associated with the reminder interface 200 arrive. The
notification interface 300 can block an existing application user
interface that was being displayed prior to the notification, so
that the user cannot continue to use the existing application until
input is provided or the notification is explicitly closed, i.e.,
cancelled without providing input. Blocking an application user
interface can include overlaying the notification on the
application interface, diverting user input from the application
user interface to the notification user interface, or the like.
That is, the notification interface 300 is displayed until the
reminder is completed by receipt of input data in an input field
304, or dismissed by a Close button 302. Since the input data type
type 206 associated with the reminder is a numeric type in the
examples of FIGS. 3A and 3B, the input field 304 is a numeric input
field into which a user can enter a number or select a number from
a list. When a number is successfully received in the input field
304, the reminder notification interface 300 disappears, and the
user can continue using the existing application or other
applications.
The notification interface 310 is similar to the notification
interface 300, but has a photo input type 216, and displays a photo
input button 314. The notification interface 310 is a
location-based notification that can be displayed when the
computing device's geographic location matches the location
associated with the reminder interface 210. When the notification
interface 310 is displayed, the user can select the photo input
button 314 to take a photo to be used as the input data for the
reminder. For example, when the user selects the photo button 314,
a camera application can be presented to enable the user to take a
photo that becomes the input data for the reminder. When the photo
has successfully been received, the reminder is complete, and the
notification interface 310 disappears. Alternatively, the user can
select the Close button 312 to dismiss the reminder without
providing input. In either case, the user can then continue using
the existing application or other applications.
In one or more embodiments, the input data received by the
reminders is stored, e.g., on a reminder server, and can be
retrieved from the server for display and analysis upon request.
For example, a user interface can be provided to plot the graphical
history of input values received for periodic reminders that have
numeric inputs. This data retrieval and plotting can help users
trace their progress for the reminder items, such as health
condition, dietary results, weight, workout results, and so on.
Reminders having input data of other types can be presented in
formats appropriate for the types. For example, a photo stream can
be presented to a user to display photos that were taken by a
camera as inputs to a periodic reminder. Such a photo stream can be
used, for example, to track a construction process by regularly
taking photos of the monitored construction site.
FIG. 4 is an illustrative drawing of a reminders summary user
interface 400 for displaying summaries of existing reminders in
accordance with one or more embodiments. The reminder summaries are
associated with checkboxes that can be used to enable or disable
the existing reminders. A reminder summary 402 corresponds to the
reminder interface 200 and indicates that the reminder can display
the message "Check blood pressure." The reminder summary 402
includes a text input field indicator 404, which indicates that the
reminder expects text input. A reminder summary 406 corresponds to
the reminder interface 210 and indicates that the reminder can
display the message "Take a picture of the construction." The
reminder summary 406 includes a photo input field indicator 408,
which indicates that the reminder accepts photos as input.
FIG. 5 is an illustrative flowchart of a process for presenting
reminders with completion conditions in accordance with one or more
embodiments. Process 500 can be implemented as, for example,
computer program code encoded on a computer readable medium and
executable by a processor of a computer system. Process 500 begins
at block 502 when a reminder's criteria is met, which can occur at
a time or location specified by the reminder's definition. The
reminder application 104, for example, can monitor the reminder
criteria and, when the criteria is met for a particular reminder,
send a notification that causes the process of FIG. 5 to execute.
Block 504 determines whether the reminder's definition specifies
that user input is required, i.e., a required user input option
associated with the reminder is enabled. If required user input is
not enabled, then the reminder is presented as a checkbox that can
be dismissed by the user without any requirement for other user
input. Block 506 indicates that the completion condition is an
ordinary acknowledgment that corresponds to a Boolean (yes/no)
type, and block 508 presents an ordinary reminder that can be
dismissed by a simple acknowledgement (e.g., selecting an OK button
or checking a checkbox). Once the user acknowledges the reminder,
the reminder is complete and the reminder notification user
interface disappears. Referring back to block 504, if block 504
determines that input is expected by the reminder (i.e., the
reminder requires user input), then, as specified at block 510,
input will be allowed and required for completion of the
notification according to the completion criteria associated with
the reminder (e.g., criteria specified by the user when the
reminder was created). The user can specify a completion method
such as receiving text data, taking a photo, taking a video,
sending an email, sending a text message, and so on. For example,
the reminder's definition may specify that the user is to send a
text message to their aunt every time the reminder occurs, and the
reminder application can interact with a text messaging application
to send the text message. In this case, the reminders interact with
other applications on the computer system to receive data. Block
512 causes the reminder to be presented until the input is
received. Block 514 then stores a copy of the user input (e.g.,
text, number, photograph) so that the user can keep track of the
periodic actions items. If any tags are associated with the
reminder, block 514 stores the tags in association with the
received input.
FIG. 6 is an illustrative flowchart of a process for automatically
providing input to reminders from other applications in accordance
with one or more embodiments. Process 600 can be implemented as,
for example, computer program code encoded on a computer readable
medium and executable by a processor of a computer system. Process
600 begins at block 602 when the computer system is booted up,
i.e., initialized. Block 602 is executed by each application as
part of the application's initialization processes. At block 604,
the application declares the type of data that it can provide. The
application makes this declaration by generating a description of
the names and types of data that the application can provide for
consumption by other applications. For example, a camera
application provides a description declaring that it can generate a
data value named "Photo" of a photograph (i.e., image) type. At
block 606, the data description is received by the reminder
application, which uses the names and types in the description to
populate a list of inputs that is used in the user interfaces 200
when the user selects an input for the input type field 206. Since
the input is generated by another application, a reminder
notification interface 300 is not necessarily presented to the
user. Instead, when a reminder that receives input from another
application is triggered by the reminder criteria becoming true,
the reminder queries the application for the input value. If the
input value is successfully received from the application, then the
notification interface 300 need not be shown. However, in another
embedment, the notification interface 300 is shown, with an
indication that the input data has been collected automatically,
and the user can complete the reminder by selecting an OK button or
the like.
At block 608, the reminder application uses the data declaration
received from the application to construct a list of potential
input data items. The list is displayed in the reminder
configuration interface 200 when a user creates or modifies a
reminder that accepts input data. At block 610, the user selects
one of the declared data items to be the input type for the
reminder. Subsequently, when the reminder's condition is met, data
of the declared type is requested and received from the application
at block 612. The received data completes the reminder and can be
stored at the server.
FIG. 7 shows a system block diagram of computer system 700 used to
execute the software of an embodiment. Computer system 700 includes
subsystems such as a central processor 702, system memory 704,
fixed storage 706 (e.g., hard drive), removable storage 708 (e.g.,
FLASH), and network interface 710. The central processor 702, for
example, can execute computer program code (e.g., an operating
system) to implement the invention. An operating system is
normally, but necessarily) resident in the system memory 704 during
its execution. Other computer systems suitable for use with the
invention may include additional or fewer subsystems. For example,
another computer system could include more than one processor 702
(i.e., a multi-processor system) or a cache memory.
Although the foregoing invention has been described in detail by
way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity and
understanding, it will be recognized that the above described
invention may be embodied in numerous other specific variations and
embodiments without departing from the spirit or essential
characteristics of the invention. Certain changes and modifications
may be practiced, and it is understood that the invention is not to
be limited by the foregoing details, but rather is to be defined by
the scope of the appended claims.
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